Deconstructing the Gaza blockade

A ship carrying women activists who hoped to deliver aid to Palestinians through the Israeli blockade along the Gaza Strip will no longer travel to Cyprus from Lebanon, effective Sunday, according to a Saturday report from Reuters.

To some, this may seem like just another grievance to add to the long list of ills caused by the Gaza blockade, but maybe it’s time for people to see a different side of the story — one barely covered by U.S. media.

Beyond the occupation of Palestine since 1967, Israel imposed an unyielding blockade in 2007 meant to cut off the Palestinian-occupied Gaza Strip. Three years have passed, and the blockade has evolved into a man-made humanitarian disaster. In large part, the U.S. government and media have turned a blind eye to the situation. But, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, the blockade violates all standards of international humanitarian laws and must be lifted.

The blockade does nothing to “secure” Israel, as denying access to food and medical supplies will only expand the rift between Palestinians and Israelis. However, both sides accepted the Obama administration’s invitation to begin a peace talk two weeks from last Saturday, Israel still controls all of Gaza’s borders, airspace and the freedom of movement, goods and thus the economy.

In the Palestinian parliamentary elections of 2006, the Hamas political party won the majority of seats. When it assumed power the next month Israel, the US and the European Union refused to recognize the party’s right to govern.

Hamas and other factions decided that if Israel broke the six-month cease-fire after Obama’s election, they wouldn’t recognize the authority given by the people, nor let Gaza live, the use of force was its only way of expressing resistance. So Hamas created homemade, uncontrollable rockets from available scrap metal. There was no comparison between the unprofessional Palestinian military, armed with unsophisticated weaponry, and Israel, whose army is equipped with F-16s from the U.S. and other supplies manufactured by numerous companies such as Micro Electronics and Motorola, in Arizona that produce defense-based electronics via military contracts.

The world must accept that Hamas won in clean elections with EU’s monitoring. But our reaction was immobilizing by allowing Israel to impose a crippling blockade in response. President George W. Bush justified the blockade by saying, “Israel has the right to protect itself.” Then, shortly after, America armed Hamas’ political rival to conduct a coup against elected Gazan officials while Israel arrested parliamentarians.

The important question is: are Palestinians entitled to the same basic human rights as other ethnic groups suffering displacement or discrimination? These rights include the freedom of movement, access to food and the right to shelter one’s family. But how is the public supposed to be educated about these injustices if the U.S. media coverage reflects the U.S. political obligations?

According to national media watch group Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, "U.S. corporate media coverage of the Israeli military attacks...has overwhelmingly failed to mention that indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets are illegal under international humanitarian law" after attacks in 2008. Only the Israeli narrative was conveyed in media, with information including: “Israel is being attacked using unprovoked rockets by Hamas the ‘terrorist’ organization.” There was no mention that the majority of rockets were shot afterIsrael and the U.S. rejected the democratic process in Gaza or that Israel has broken more than 50 U.N. resolutions, conducted a humanitarianly illegal blockade against an entire population, killed 1,400 people and did not allow international media into Gaza during the Operation Cast Lead attack in 2008.
The U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza, headed by Richard Goldstone, a Jewish South African judge with strong personal ties to Israel and known for a sparring reputation in international law and human rights, concluded that Israel had used disproportionate force, targeted Palestinian civilians, using them as human shields and destroyed civilian infrastructure.

As a nation, we need to make a more conscious effort to divest from companies that manufacture products aiding Israeli occupation and learn to question the holes in media coverage of the Gaza Strip. We need to open our eyes.